Sew What?! WISHING that Halloween was "1,001 NIGHTS"

There has to be some kind of superstition that warns against revealing one's Halloween costume prior to October 31.  Somehow it feels like a bride parading around town in her wedding dress before the big day, especially to one who views Halloween as a marriage of everything wonderful - holidays, dress-up, ghost stories, and free candy!!!  Having broken many a mirror with only negligible consequences, I am willing to tempt the fates and show off this year's version of my tried-and-true Halloween pajamas (as is the case every year, my passion for Halloween is tempered only by my extreme distaste for even minor discomfort, i.e. ungainly costumes, elaborate makeup, full-face masks, gore, the inability to sit/stand/eat/use the facilities properly, etc.).  Any costume I wear must be able to do double duty as lounge/sleepwear.

Inspired by the vintage statuettes that take pride of place on the bookcase, the goal
for my costume was a character ripped straight from the pages of The Arabian Nights.

After seeing the rows of luscious pearls worn by a character on American 
Horror Story: Freak Show and subsequently adding them to the mix, the
resulting costume is probably a culturally-insensitive pastiche of maharaja,
sultan, genie, sheik, Gabor sister, and transvestite.  I'll go with genie.

Even dressed as a genie, the most important question I can ask myself when I'm trying on new clothes is, "Is this flattering or is this fattering?"  Swathed in at least ten yards of reflective, bargain-bin upholstery material, I think the answer is clear.

I blame the bird.
What's that old saying about removing at least one accessory before leaving the house?

But there was no way that I was going to ditch my greatest accessory by far.
For some reason, I was hell-bent on a stylized, avian companion.  I began creating the
scepter parrot before starting on any other part of my costume.  With undue confidence,
I just cut directly into my fabric (remnants from Mary's Christmas dress last year and
another dress yet to be shared) and hoped for the best - it actually worked!  The eyes
are made of buttons and rhinestones; the scepter is a brass ring with a finial made from
beads, buttons, and rhinestones, resting atop a length of gold-painted bamboo onto
which poor polly was rather unceremoniously skewered.

Managing to complete my costume a full three weeks before Halloween, I was left with ample time to follow the click-bait leading to at least two online articles dedicated to the prevention of offensive Halloween costumes.  Having received some concerned feedback on this forum about my choice of vintage-style "gypsy" costume last year, I sincerely hope that this year's costume (a well-intentioned, mythical genie) falls on the correct side of the costume-decency dividing line.  Honestly, I figured the most offensive part about it would be the fact that everyone encouraged me to go bare-chested!!!

Wearing the costume to the 91st-Annual Anaheim Halloween Parade, there was absolutely
no way I could subject the good people of Anaheim (home of Disneyland) to a nearly-nude
Mr. Tiny.  Instead of going topless, I opted for a "fleshtone" (although whose flesh, I know
not) shirt, removing the ribbed cuffs and collar and replacing them with gold braided trim.

I used the same trim to cobble together the remodeled rubber slippers I got
for $1.50 at everyone's favorite Japanese discount store, Daiso.  The curly
toes are finished off by dangling beads.

Fattering though it may be, the costume fulfills all of my comfort requirements as well as the usual budgetary concerns.  The only things I had to buy specifically for the costume were the slippers and the window-pane taffeta; everything else was unearthed from the bottomless pit of my fabric/craft stash (You may call me Prudence of Arabia).  Dare I say that my costume was nearly my "wish" come true?  Rather than a sophisticated, sometimes-sinister sultan, I think I more closely resemble Jeannie's junior-genie, Babu...

Intro from Hanna-Barbara's Jeannie cartoon

You only have a few days left; what are you going to be for Halloween?!!


Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

Sew What?! Sketching A Showgirl

I am of the completely-unqualified opinion that everyone has at least a little bit of OCD.  Whenever I become self-conscious of my own bizarre behavior, all I have to do is observe the "highly-questionable" conduct of others and silently express my gratitude for not being totally out of control like the lady I saw on TV who must perform every task on an even minute (e.g. 12:20 flush the toilet, 7:38 turn on the light, 9:44 lock the door, etc.), or my friend who counts his steps (ten steps to the front door, twenty-three to the car).  I am so forgetful that I am lucky to remember to lock the door, let alone count down to the appropriate tick of the clock, and so lazy that I max out around fifty steps before I call it a day.  I suppose we're all lucky that our own little exhibitions of compulsive behavior don't seem that weird to us.  One odd way in which my OCD manifests is in designing/creating a sewing project, especially when it is a Halloween costume!

Until I begin cutting and sewing, I will endlessly sketch pictures of the design concept.
Unable to focus on any other form or figure, I will obsessively draw and redraw the same (or
similar) image over and over and over again on almost any available surface - napkins, shopping
lists, envelopes, paper plates, bills; nothing is safe.

Like obsessively...
I think the only reason I sew (a practice I've always viewed as a necessary evil), is simply to get the
idea out of my head and into real life, finally allowing myself move on to the next great obsession.

Creative sewing can sometimes mean releasing conceptual control and allowing the materials to dictate the direction a project will take.  Burdened with yards and yards of a ruby red, swap-meet-quality fabric that we'll refer to as velveteen (more like flocked "velvette" or something akin to those weird moleskin-type, inflatable neck pillows used for flying), and a couple yards of floral, raspberry brocade, it was obvious that Mary's Halloween costume would have to be some kind of showgirl.  The saturated hues of the velveteen and floral brocade were crying out, "Make us a saloon girl!"  Not willing to abdicate total power, however, I thought about something a little less specific - western influenced maybe, but hopefully evoking a bit of Hollywood glamour as well.

After nearly a zillion rough drafts, this was the final design, very
much inspired by showgirl costumes of '40s cinema.

Sure, there have been far better and far more elaborate showgirl costumes but I was actually pretty proud of myself for this design - mostly because the only thing I had to purchase was the zipper and, unable to find anything suitable, I drafted my very own pattern.  Having absolutely no technical knowledge of legitimate pattern drafting, I used Mr. Tiny's tried and true hope-and-pray method.  I was even more proud of myself that, however far from perfect, I only had to make a couple of minor pattern adjustments before cutting into the fabric. 

Breaking out every bit of red fabric and and red trim I could find, I
learned that every value of red matches if one just uses them all.

The majority of the fully-lined, boned, strapless, one-piece garment was made of the velveteen, featuring the brocade at the center panel.  The princess seams were finished by a red gimp studded with red rhinestones.  The bust was adorned with two-layer bow and the seat was finished with a giant detachable bow and tails.  The choker was a remnant piece of velvet ribbon tied at the nape of the neck.    I even got ambitious and made a matching drawstring purse.  After having made them for at least two other "Sew What?!" projects, I still couldn't get past the water wing/arm floaties; I think they finish the costume in a far superior fashion to some corny, store-bought gloves.  With the body of the costume well under way, it was time for me to tackle the headpiece.

Always the dreamer, I had visions of a giant headdress with a towering arrangement of ostrich plumes.
Given my millinery budget of zero dollars and zero cents, I settled instead on the two random pheasant feathers from my stash; already red, if a little dark, I gave them the old rattle can once over.  Built upon a fabric-covered buckram frame, the hat's bottom layer is a gathered length of red, nylon netting.  The next layer is the raspberry brocade trimmed in pom poms, topped by the red velveteen adorned with red rhinestones, and followed by a final spray of red netting.  

Hoping to teach Mary some kind of responsibility (insert laughter - or maybe sad trombone - here), I put her in charge of stockings and shoes.  Let's just say that the day before Halloween I was driving her around town looking for nude fishnet stockings; on the day of Halloween, the Imelda Marcos of the Americas still hadn't figured out her shoe situation.  In what must have been her attempt to elicit an anxiety-induced coronary, she handed me a pair of the most random, lucite-heeled, yellowing, plastic mules I had ever seen.  I immediately reverted to my hope-and-pray method for an extreme shoe makeover.

The silver insole notwithstanding, these turned out better than I thought.
Honestly, I should have taken a before picture.

I covered the heel and the strap in velveteen, having the exact length
 of leftover gimp trim to finish the raw edges (how's that for a Halloween
 miracle?).  Never satisfied to leave well-enough alone, I of course made
bows to match! 

The funniest part about this design is that I'm normally not one to make costumes that might be deemed provocative.  In the best of circumstances, I am wholly confused by the parade of overly-sexualized costumery (as outlined yearly by our pal, Kimmie) that marches forth during the Halloween season.  The fact that this costume is rather bare didn't even occur to me until we were at our friends' unbelievably-awesome and atmospheric Halloween party where I caught a couple of creepers ogling Ol' Stretch.

Rather than "sexiness," the intention of this costume was about invoking the spirit of
Annette at The Golden Horseshoe and other similar cinematic showgirls; I think it worked!

Well, what do you think?  Was the obsessive sketching worth the effort?  What was your costume this year - tell the truth, was it sexy?  More importantly, did you Trick-or-Treat?

"Trick-or-Treat" (1952)

We hope that whatever you wore and whatever you did, your Halloween nightmares dreams all came true!  We're already excitedly planning for next year!  HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

Sew What?! It's Just the Gypsy in My Soul

It has been well established that my Halloween costumes must be little more than glorified pajamas.  I wholeheartedly approve of entirely-over-the-top, full-scale, costume productions...for other people.  Mile-high hair, crazy make-up, props, functioning electronics, and masks that make sight a total impossibility, all melt my Halloween-loving heart.  But as someone who has made quite a habit of sitting comfortably, entering and exiting cars without major incident, walking at a brisk pace (sweating as a result), and seeing where I am going, I require something ridiculously simple, something elasticized, something in which I can hide my lumps, my bumps, AND all of the candy I sneak from the candy bowl.  These are the exact reasons I so love the forgiving Halloween costumes of the Art Deco era.

Not so much a costume as a dunce cap and a crepe-paper smock, one is
rarely able to discern exactly what the wearer intended to be.  But darn
him if he doesn't look festive!

I love that whatever the intention, the costume is usually fabricated in the classic Halloween color story of orange, black, and white.  I also love that from fairy princess to wizard to Juliet, practically everyone gets the Jack-O-Lantern treatment.

Finding inspiration in old patterns and illustrations from The Dennison's 
Bogie Book, and knowing that our Halloween plans include a perennially-
awesome, vintage Halloween party, I decided that this year I would be a gypsy.

Not having gone as a gypsy vagabond since the year my mom declared that the same costume I'd worn for the past two years (first as "pirate" and then as "artist") would work equally well as gypsy, I figured that this was my year to take back ownership of the costume.  This year I will be the Halloween gypsy I've always wanted to be - not the humiliating "pirartsy" that was so cruelly forced on me for three years in a row.

You see?  I'm clearly NOT a pirate.
(That's a gypsy earring)

That's right...no pirates here!

I'm almost positive that the pirate code strictly forbids trimmings
that are even slightly "pom pom" in nature and clearly the vest is
just dripping with those gypsy-esque danglers. 

Sticking with Halloween's tried-and-true colors, I made balloon-legged pants in black and a tassel-trimmed sash and head scarf in an orange-and-black stripe.  I had every intention of making my own gypsy tunic but realized how much easier it would be to customize an underutilized, white, dress shirt by hacking off the lower half of the sleeves and attaching gathered puff sleeves, but not without incident...

Sewing for the better part of two decades without injury, I always wondered
how those "I sewed through my finger" dummies managed to do it.  Well,
this costume taught me how.  Fortunately, my finger and hand remain intact
and the injury necessitated nary a pirate hook. 

As I was removing the shirt from beneath the presser foot, my own foot slipped, hitting the pedal and sending the needle right through my finger.  Reacting to my ouch response more quickly than I could understand what had happened, I immediately yanked my hand away.  In doing so, I broke the needle off into my finger - all in a day's work for a gypsy.

I convalesced by painting a non-pirate, gypsy-inspired pumpkin patch (get it?)
for the back of the vest, paying tribute to the costumes of yore and matching
my Crazy Crafty, Jack-O-Lantern, lantern staff.

What me, pirate?
Now that I'm fully recovered, I'm feeling quite fancy free and have a
desperate urge to wander.  Perhaps, it's just "The Gypsy in My Soul."

"The Gypsy in My Soul" - Perry Como

After much (gypsy) soul searching to the mellow crooning of Mr. Como, I suppose I am willing to concede that pirates are basically just scurvy-ridden water gypsies, so I guess my mom wasn't so far off-base...  

I hope you're ready for Halloween, because it is right around the corner!  What will you be on October 31?

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

Million Monster March: The Anaheim Halloween Parade

Although it hasn't yet been made official, I'm pretty sure that we are honorary citizens of Anaheim, CA.  We are probably over thinking it, but out of sheer good taste and unqualified breeding, we're just waiting for the mayor's announcement that both a street and a day will be dedicated to Tiny & Mary before we send out the invitations to the ribbon cutting ceremony.

"Where's our key to the city, huh?!"

This could take a while...
(photo courtesy of Star Class Media)

We spend so much time with our Anaheim-resident friends that sometimes it feels like we live there - especially when it comes to Anaheim's big day to shine - The Anaheim Halloween Parade! 

Andy Anaheim, a character created nearly 60 years ago by
Disney artists, stepped off the parade with his rotating head,
functioning arms, and booming bass drum.

For months and months, our pals over at the Anaheim Historical Society have been planning, designing, and preparing for this year's parade.  While the parade has always been a rallying opportunity for the community and a real source of hometown charm, the recent past has seen the it dwindle into a cavalcade of local politicians and obscure beauty queens.  Great - and very successful - pains were taken this year to restore some of the thematic elements that make it the Anaheim Halloween Parade.

Just a sampling of the projects as they progressed
at the official parade headquarters.

If nothing else, I have a modicum of rhythm.  Obviously, marching in a parade would come so very much like a second nature to someone so rhythmically-blessed as myself, that I could easily miss the parade meetings and just jump right in at the last minute, right?  Right?!?!

It begins at sundown.

I quickly learned that marching in a parade is more than soliciting high-fives from the crowd; it is an art form!
There's definitely a trick to walking, waving, and wearing a mask (sans glasses) all at the same time!
(photo courtesy of Star Class Media)

We were in the old-timey section of the parade.
The positioning worked out perfectly as we were able to recycle last year's
costumes (after returning from Japan, time, energy, and funds were low).

This cat costume, worn by our pal, Norma,
was a hit with us and with the crowd!

The two-part, man-powered Haunted House had a wooden frame but the
rest of the structure was  - believe it or not - cardboard!
The artists behind these pieces are incredible.

Speaking of cardboard, this is another cardboard sculpture.
Reminiscent of the trees from The Forest of No Return in Babes in Toyland,
the amount of depth and texture achieved in this piece is mind blowing!
Once all of the lantern foliage was lit, it was spectacular!

Shriners rule the world!
The minicars and calliope/organ wagon are always a highlight!

I had a very, very small hand in bringing the
"Heebie Jeebie" to life, so small in fact, that
I shouldn't even mention it.  But I am nothing
if not one to take credit where credit isn't due!

The Jungle Cruise/Tiki contingent of the parade was
 among my favorite entries!  Dig that crazy mask!

There was so much more to the parade, but because I skipped, tripped, waddled marched this year, I depended on the kindness of friends for many of these photos.  If you are anywhere in the area, you are more than welcome to contribute and participate in next year's Anaheim Halloween Parade.  

Join the fun!!!
(photo courtesy of Star Class Media)

2014 will mark the parade's 90th year and it is sure to be a spectacle of unprecedented proportions; contact the Anaheim Halloween Parade website for more information.  For additional information on the history and redevelopment of Anaheim please visit the Anaheim Historical Society.  Preparations for next year's parade begin in January 2014.  Happy Halloween!

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

Sew What?! Like A Bat Out of Hall-oween 1929

Before I talk about our Halloween, or the costumes I made, or the fun that we had, I have to do a little bit of bragging about how disturbingly cute my nephew is!  Can he really be related to me?  I question his genetic make-up because nobody, but nobody, has ever accused me of being cute and then this guy comes along and ZOWEE - off the cuteness charts!!!  That's not an exaggeration; we took him to the doctor and found out that he was in the 99th percentile for height in 2 year olds but they said his cuteness is unquantifiable.  They actually referred my sister and brother-in-law to a crisis counselor because they said he was at dangerous risk levels for developing an "acute cuteness complex" at any moment.  If I was super hip, I would "hash tag" this - #cutepeopleproblems.  I, as you are undoubtedly well aware, am woefully, tragically, painfully unhip.

"Reach for the sky!"
He was actually trying to smile in this one.

Aren't I lucky?!!
I get to hang out with this mug on a regular basis
and give him cool, vintage cowboy stuff.
But he did have to take off his boot...
there was a snake in it.

This one reminded me of a Disney cartoon - if you
can believe it.  Have you ever seen...

"A Cowboy Needs a Horse" (1956) ???
Watch it!

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming (but really cute though, right?)

Particular attention has been paid to Dennison's Bogie Book this Halloween season.  I guess we bloggers are following the same spiritual vibrations because the costumes I made this year are directly inspired by the beautiful, deco-era illustrations found within those books.

That's my kind of Halloween party!

I've always found the Halloween costumes of the 1920's and 30's to be exciting.  Instead of blood and gore, the costumes make it seem like every Halloween is a Cole Porter musical.  It's not only the costumes, but the decorations, the games, and even the ephemera. Papier-mache pumpkins, die-cut witches, lanterns, funny hats, cider, anything spooky from as early as the Victorian era through the 1930's - that's what Halloween means to me.  Blessedly, our friends, Kevin & Jody, feel the same. 

Kevin & Jody's place
A spooky old tree and a Victorian house being slowly
enveloped by a thick, green fog.

I love this chandelier!!!
It drips with lanterns, masks, ornaments, and mementos of Halloweens past.

Yes, to all of the above!

Amazing house. Check.  Amazing hosts. Check.  Player piano, cool party guests, good food.  Check, check, check.  The only thing left was the costumes. Oh yeah, I also made some costumes.  Check.

I found a really nice, very inexpensive crepe georgette at
my favorite/secret, out of the way fabric store and used it to style a
 late-20's dress.  There are drapes of
fabric at the front, the back, and the side seams and a swagged
garland of self-fabric yo-yos at the dropped waist.

Like a good bridesmaid dress, I wanted Mary's Bat/Vamp costume
 to be something she could wear again.  Bat wings at Christmas?
Bat wings at Easter?  Bat wings on Boxing Day (Canada)?  That works.

The inspiration for this costume was, of course, the central figure.
I know crepe paper used to be made of heartier stuff, but I wonder if a
dress and headdress made entirely of crepe paper (as the instructions
 suggest) would survive a full-night of Halloween merrymaking.

Mary's hat is made of a deconstructed wall-hanging, bat decoration( from the 99cents Only Store),
a deconstructed pirate hat (thrifted), and deconstructed, black tinsel spiders (Target dollar section).
I'm telling you that hat was broken down!
All told, Mary's hat cost three dollars...
if you don't count the gas used driving from store to store to store!

Based on the Dennison's illustrations, I made
"carnival cane" type walking sticks/scepters;
Mary's had glittering bats.

I guess I had more inspiration that may have been subconscious;
several people told Mary that she looked like an Edward Gorey illustration.
My parents were ardent fans of PBS' "Mystery" series. Growing up
I saw the opening sequence about 475,692 times (reruns included).

The Edward Gorey opening theme from
the PBS series "Mystery" (a parental favorite)

See the bat lady at 0:21-0:25

My costume was a little less macabre than Mary's, but it wasn't all comic (see the tear drop on my mask?).  Speaking of the mask, I just realized that I'm always wearing some kind of face furniture.  Because I don't wear contacts, I just went blind all night.  I have particularly horrible night vision so I spent the entire evening squinting and tripping because my depth perception was off - the ideal party guest.  I'm going to have to include the necessity of glasses to my personal list of hard and fast costume rules - no face paint (messy, greasy, and easily smeared) and nothing more restrictive or less comfortable than pajamas.  If you look at the old-timey ilustrations, with the exception of the giant spiderweb, all the costumes look extremely wearable.  Let it be known that I love all those clever costumes thoughtfully created with moving parts, giant masks, added appendages, etc.  For me, however, comfort and the ability to sit, stand, and move is paramount.

A bit clown, a bit choir robe, a bit Mama Cass on
the "Mike Douglas Show" - all comfortable.
I prefer to think of it as male maternity wear.

My post-pasta pigout Pagliacci costume was
 topped with a diminutive, handcrafted hat. 

The costume started with my yo-yo clown.
Oddly enough, my brother and his girlfriend thought
this was super creepy.  The two-year-old buckaroo,
however, thought it was hilarious.

I very crudely embroidered the face on some remnant muslin
and stuffed the head/hat with batting that I snuck from a pillow.
Each arm and leg is made up of THIRTEEN yo-yos!!! Spooooky!!!

"Every party needs a pooper..."
Sad clowns

Kevin said this photo of us looked like something from Vanity Fair.
We just wanted to be close to the snack table...
(photo courtesy of Kevin Kidney)

I've already bragged about my nephew so I don't want to boast even further, but with the exception of missing a few parties that I know were awesome, this was a pretty perfect Halloween.  It was the ultimate haunted house experience!

"The Haunted House" - Ray Noble & The New Mayfair Orchestra (1931)

I hope you groovy boos and ghouls had an awesome Halloween too.  Honestly, we spent half of our night planning and preparing for next year's festivities.  When I was young I liked Halloween, but the older I get, the more I LOVE Halloween!   Thanksgiving, Christmas - those are a lot of work; Halloween is pure fun - just a little responsibility and a whole lot of candy!!!

Bonus photo: I made a sweet pumpkin dip (served with ginger cookies)

to take with us to the party.  Like all good things, this recipe contains Cool-Whip

and I used that container to store the dip.  When I removed the lid, there

 was a Jack-O-Lantern staring back at me.  A Halloween miracle?

I think so. You see it too, don't you?

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny